The Madden NFL 15 Wishlist

Next year is a pivotal one for the Madden franchise. Madden NFL 15 – or whatever EA Sports decides to call it – represents a full year away from this November's console transition and could determine the direction for the series in the coming years. Here are some of the things we'd like to see.

This list is by no means exhaustive and doesn't cover the obvious bug fixes, but we'd like to see these issues addressed or implemented. While I have a feeling that Madden NFL 25 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 won't solve a lot of these problems, it will be interesting to see in the coming years how the new systems' extra horsepower tries to address some of these issues.

If you have any suggestions of your own, please post them in the comments section below. You can also check out my review for more.

GAMEPLAY

Players' mass should be more accurately taken into account during tackles and hits.

True gang tackles – where more than one player grabs and tackles the ball carrier – should replace canned animations of players getting tackled.

Offensive linemen need to better identify, prioritize, and engage targets, particularly when they are out in space.

Players need better awareness of the ball and players around them – especially when it's the ball carrier.

The completion percentage for AI QBs needs to be smoothed out. In my experience, their percentages were either too high or too low. Also, there should be more variety of mis-throws.

Wide receivers need to come back to the ball more to prevent their routes from being cut off by defensive backs.

The cornerback/receiver interaction needs a greater degree of outcomes.

There needs to be more consistency when your running back is navigating traffic in terms of what they get caught up on and what they automatically navigate around.

CONNECTED FRANCHISES

Owners need to be able to design their stadiums like in previous Maddens.

The internal math that spits out the overall franchise rankings when you're an owner (such as Team Success) needs to be clarified so your ranking isn't going down when you're winning.

A difficulty setting for owners (similar to the ones in FIFA and NHL) would put some substance into the role for those that want it. Perhaps this setting could change how much money you start out with.

EA should include the ability to manage formation substutions outside of the games themselves so you can set defensive line rotatations and move receivers around the formation easier without being under the gun of the play clock.

A clear timeline of your offseason weeks would allow you to know how many rounds of free agency and scouting you have.

The free agency experience needs to better capture the madness of the first few days of the open market, where teams are setting up player visits, selling their franchise to the players, and participating in bidding wars.

To make free agency feel more realistic, it needs to give the actual players a sense of agency. They should be able to survey the league and understand how much playing time or money they could earn on the open market, and manage their expectations accordingly.

The improved connected franchise dashboard does a great job of surfacing league news, but we'd also like to see an NFL 2K5 style weekly highlight wrap-up.

Getting actual stats for draft prospects would give you more info on potential players.

Restricted free agents, a practice squad, and more power to sculpt contracts and negotiate with players (like rookie contracts, draft-day trades, and contract terms) is needed.

The player role needs more focus on you as a player instead of just position locking you when you're on the field. An off-the-field dialog system, player-centric storylines, and more things to do would be nice. In general, more storylines to bring the league to life would be good for any of the Connected Franchises roles.

OTHER

Exceptional performances in Ultimate Team mode should earn you more coins.

Mid-game saves.

Coaches need to be able to challenge all legal plays instead of just those that the game intermittenly allows.

Commentary needs to be more dynamic and aware of the context of the game.